Rotary duplicating machines



March 21, 1961 Filed April 30, 1956 L. H. SMITH ROTARY DUPLICATINGMACHINES 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 March 21, 1961 H. SMITH 2,975,704

ROTARY DUPLICATING MACHINES Filed April 30, 1956 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 March21, 1961 L. H. SMITH 2,975,704

ROTARY DUPLICATING MACHINES Filed April 150, 1956 3 Sheets-Sheet 32,975,704 ROTARY DUPLICATING MACHINES LeslieHarrold Smith, GideaPark,England, assignor' to l Roneo Limited, London, England Filed Apr, 30,1956, Se. No. 581,754

filaims priority, application Great Britain May 2, 1955 6 Claims.(Cl.'101-116) This invention relates topower operated rotaryduplieating-machines of the kind having a printing drum which supportsastencil sheet andcontains a supply of ink which passes via perforationswhich extend partly but not wholly around'the surface of the drum andthrough the stencil sheet during the printing process.

Itis desirablewith all previously proposed duplicating machines'of thekind referred to,to be sure to leave the printing drum in apredetermined position when not in use to prevent the leakageofink fromthe supply in the which will foul the machine. For this-purposeit isknowntoprovidea mark on'the'drurn which has to be registered with a markon thefrarne of the machine or bepositioned at the topto avoid thedisadvantage above referred to;

Th'object of the present invention is to provide a du-. plicatingmachine of the kind referred to in which irrespective of the speed atwhich the machine is operated the drum comes to rest automatically inthe preferred position when the machine is stopped, the preferredposition being when the imperforate portion of the drum surface is 'inthe lowest position thus preventing, when the machine is not in use,leakage of ink from the supply inthe drum'which will foul the machine.

The invention consists in a duplicating machine of the kind referredtohalving a variable speed gear in which upon operating a lever, knob orthe like to stop the machine or in which after a preselected number ofcopies has been duplicated or when only a few sheets of paper remain onthe feed board, the variable speed gear automatically engages the lowestoperating speed before the power is switched olf.

' The invention further consists in a duplicating machine as set forthin the preceding'paragraph in which an electric switch for the controlof the power is switched off by the action of a lever mechanism operatedby a cam associated with the printing drum.

The inventionstill further consists in a duplicating machine as setforth above having means for manually regulating the'speed at which theprinting drum rotates which is connected to an operating knob by way ofan adjusting screw and nut, a connecting link, a lever and a loose linkwhich is urged .to move longitudinally in the direction to lower thespeed ratio by spring means before the switching oh but is preventedfrom so doing by a catch which maybe tripped either manually ormechanically after a preselected number of copies have been duplicatedor when only 'a few sheets of paper remain on the feed board.

The machine still further consists in a duplicating machine of the typereferred to in which the last copy completelyfpa'sses through themachine while variable speed gear mean's automatically engages, thelowest operating speed before the power is switched off.

The accompanying drawings show, by way of example only, one embodimentof the invention in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of one form of start and stop mechanism,

2,975,704 Patented Mar. I 21, 1961 Figure 2 is a side elevation, and

Figure-3 is a plan view of the samemechanisrn.

The machine duplicating speed may be selected, with the machine runningor stationary, by rotating knob 26 which rotates adjusting screw 18-by alike amount causing nut 27 to move longitudinally along screw 18. Lever4, which is connected by link 28 to nut 27 and which is pivoted on stud44 which is therefore moved to a known position by rotating knob 26. Theposition of lever 4 determines the position in which lever 6 is heldwhile the machine is operating and to which lever 6 is set by the manualoperation of. lever 17. The machine is switched on by manually operatinglever 17 attached to one arm of a U-shaped lever 6 pivoted on stud 40 bybell crank 29 and by link 30, thereby bringing a stud 31 projecting fromlever 6 up to lever- 4 where it isheld in position by the arrangement ofcatch 5 onto stud 31. Lever 6 is connected to a slide 8 on which ispivoted catch 16 which, when the machine is not operating, is located tothe right of roller 20, and which when moved from right to left by theaction of slide 8 displaces roller 20 attached to one arm of U-shapedlever 21 pivoted on spindle 45. Screw 22 is also associated with pivotedlever 21, therefore, when catch 16 displaces lever 21 by roller 20,screw 22 depresses switch button '7 thereby switching on the machine.

Slide 8 is also connected through bell crank 9, pull rod 15, link 32 tothe pivoted lever 33 which is connected by brackets 34 and 35 tooperating arms 12 and 36 respectively pivoted on pins 357 and '38.Operating arms 12 and 36, being pivoted 011 pins 37 and 38 close at oneend while opening at the other end, and vice versa, thereby regulatingthe transmission ratio'between the expansible input pulley 39 and theexpansible driven pulley 14. The expansible form of the pulleys 14 and39 enables the effective diameters at the point of engagement with belt13 to be varied as required, thereby regulating the transmission ratio.1 The input expansible half pulleys 39 are free to move longitudinallyon spline shaft 41, which in this instance is driven via a gearbox by anelectric motor, and the driven expansible half pulleys 14 are free tomove longitudinally along spline shaft 42 which may be connected by atrain of gears, or by a chain, or by a combination of both as in thisinstance, to a gear associated with the printing drum 1. As slide &moves forward, hook lever 11, the bottom end of which is free to move byaction of spring 43 in a similar direction, hooks itself when depressedby cam 2 through bell crank 3, under a fixed catch plate 19. Lever 11moves up and down with each revolution of earn 2 by the action of thecam through hell crank 3 and by the action of the spring 4?! but thelatter also holds the hooked end of the lever 11 in contact with thecatch plate while the machine is operating.

The machine is switched oif by tripping catch 5, either by the manualoperation of lever 48, which being associated with angle plate 46 bybell crank 49 and link 47 causes angle plate 46 to trip catch 5 by theupward movement oflever 48, or when catch 5 is tripped mechanicallyafter a pro-selected number of copies have been duplicated or when onlya few sheets of paper remain on the feed board, by a mechanism notillustrated which, in this instance, displaces bell crank 49 thereby,through link 47, causing angle bracket 46 to move upwardsand trip catch5.' When catch 5 is tripped, releasing lever 6, slide 8 attached to thelever 6 endeavors to return under spring tension, but, its return speedis controlled, through bell crank 9, pull rod 15, links 32 and 33,brackets 34 and 35 and arms '12 and 36 operating on theexpansible halfpulleys 14 and 39, which return by virtue of the machine loadtransmitted through V-belt 13 assisted by spring 44 to their positionsfrom which the machine is driven at its approximate slow speed. Thecomplete return to the switch otr'position of slide 8 is prevented byplate 23 attached to slide 8 contacting hook lever 11 where it is helduntil such time as lever 11 is depressed to its lowest position by cam 2through bell crank 3, in which position, the hooked end of lever 11 isfree to disengage from catch plate 19. When hook lever 11 is at its lowposition and released from plate 19, slide 8 completes its return, andplate 23 attached to slide 8 displaces hook lever 11 and so positionsthe latter that at the top of its stroke, a plate 50 on lever 11 islocated in line with lever 10 which is then rotated to the switch offposition by the downward stroke of lever 11. Lever 10 is fixed tospindle 25 as is also lever 24, therefore when lever 10 is rotated bythe action of lever 11, lever 24 is rotated a like amount and depressesthe switch button in line with lever 24.

When catch is tripped either manually or mechanically in the mannerdescribed above, the movement of hell crank 49 also disengages the sheetfeeding mechanism. Since the printing drum rotates one or morerevolutions while the drum speed is being reduced after catch 5 has beentripped and before lever ill completes the switching off, the last copycompletely passes through the machine before the latter stops.

The complete return to the switch 0 position of slide 8 is impeded byhook lever 11 until such time as the latter is released from its hookingposition by cam 2 through hell crank 3. When hook lever 11 is at its lowposition and released, slide 8 completes its return, still under springtension, displacing lever 11 and so positioning the latter that at thetop of its stroke it is in line with the lever 16 which is then rotatedto the switch olf position by the downward stroke of lever 11.

By the method described above:

(1) The speed of rotation of the printing drum 1 decreases to theslowest operating speed before the machine stops.

(2) The last copy to be duplicated completely passes through the machinebefore the latter stops.

(3) The printing drum 1 stops at an approximate predetermined positionwhen the machine is switched off, irrespective of the originalduplicating speed.

It is to be understood that the above description is by way of exampleonly and details for carrying the invention into efifect may be variedwithout departing from the scope of the invention.

I claim:

1. In a rotary duplicating machine of the type having a frame, aprinting drum, a variable speed gear operatively connected to the drum,electric switch means controlling the power supply to the drum, andmeans operatively associated with the variable speed gear operative toadjust said gear to the lowest-operating speed prior to actuation of theelectric switch means to cut-off the power supply, such latter meansincluding a slide mounted within the frame for longitudinal reciprocablemovement, lever means pivoted to the frame and connected to the slidewhereby pivotal movement of the lever means displaces the slide in onedirection, spring means connected to the slide urging the slide in theopposite direction, catch means on the frame, operating means connectedto the lever means to displace the slide in said one direction with thecatch means engaging the lever means to hold the same in such position,a switch actuating means mounted for rotary movement in the path oftravel of the slide, trip means on the slide operative on the movementof the slide in said one direction to rotate the switch actuating meansto actuate the electric switch means to supply power to the drum, latchmeans displaceable substantially perpendicularly and in the direction ofmovement of the slide disposed in the frame with at least a portionthereof being in the" path of movement of the slide, cam means rotatablewith the drum and operatively connected to the latch means to displacethe latch means perpendicularly operative on movement of the slide insaid one direction to move the latch means in a direction whereby thelatch means engages the slide, movement imparting means connected to thevariable speed gear, means pivotally connecting the movement impartingmeans to the slide and including a lost-motion connection, a furthertrip means operatively associated with said switch actuating means andlocated in proximity to said latch means, and further means operable todisengage said catch means from said lever means whereby the springmeans urges the slide in the opposite direction whereupon said movementimparting means and its connections to the variable speed gear and theslide adjust the gear to the lowest operating speed and thereafter thelatch means is displaced by the cam means to actuate the further tripmeans to rotate the switch actuating means to actuate the electricswitch means to cut-off the power supply.

2. Power operated duplicating machines comprising a perforated printingdrum for supporting a stencil and serving as storage means for a supplyof ink, an electric motor for driving the machine, a variable speed gearbetween the motor and the drum for varying the speed at which the drumrotates and with said motor rotating the drum continuously duringprinting, a switch for switching the motor on and off, manually operablespeed set means, link and lever means between the speed set means andthe variable speed gear, resilient means urging the link andlever meansin the direction to change the gear into the condition giving the lowestspeed of rotation of the drum, projection means upon the link and levermeans which engages and operates the on and off switch to switch oif themotor in the condition of the gear giving the lowest speed of rotationof the drum, and catch means upon the link and lever means which holdsthe latter in the position corresponding to the speed of operation towhich the machine is set for operating which may be tripped eithermanually or automatically after a pre-selected number of copies havebeen duplicated or when only a few sheets of paper remain in themachine.

3. Duplicating machine as claimed in claim 2 in which the variable speedgear comprises two pairs of interlocking half pulleys joined by aV-belt, the degree of interlocking determining the speed ratio of thegear.

4. Duplicating machine as claimed in claim 2 in which the relationshipbetween the printing drum and the trip mechanism is such that the lastcopy to be duplicated completely passes through the machine before thelatter sto s.

i Duplicating machine as claimed in claim in which the said relationshipis determined by the position of a cam associated with the printingdrum. I e

6. Duplicating machine as claimed in claim 2 in which the drum isimperforate below the level of the ink when in the position in which thedrum comes to rest.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,461,876 Hagelstein July 17, 1923 1,972,978 Carroll Sept. 11, 19341,991,686 Lister Feb. 19, 1935 2,069,729 Storck Feb. 2, 1937 2,094,181Morrison Sept. 28, 1937 2,168,486 Marchev Aug. 8, 1939 2,243,283Morrison May 27, 1941 2,519,894 Dohl Aug. 22, 1950 2,690,120 BurroughsSept. 18, 1954 Retz J an. 29, 1957

